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history and Government 
of New York 



BY 



AVERY WARNER ^KINNER 

SPECIALIST IN HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OP THE STATE OF NEW YORK 



A Supplement to 

ELEMENTARY AMERICAN HISTORY AND 
GOVERNMENT 

BY 

James Albert Woodburn, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS IN INDIANA UNIVERSITY 

AND 

Thomas Francis Moran, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS IN PURDUE UNIVERSITY 



LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 

FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET, NEW YORK 
PRAIRIE AVENUE AND 25TH STREET, CHICAGO 
Copyright, 19i8, by Longmans, Green and Co. 



t^i'^ri'yiripi^'Ti'TiTiTi'vrsLni^^^^ 



. S 6 7i 



OCT 10 1918 



•••Vl.'t!' I 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
^' OF NEW YORK 






By AVERY WARNER SKINNER 

Specialist in History, University of the State of New York 

THE PEOPLE OF THE LONG HOUSE 

The Coming of the Iroquois. Before European adventurers 
had reached the shores of America the territory now included 
within the boundaries of the state of New York was gradually 
being occupied by a powerful race of Indians known as the 
Iroquois. It is not possible to state definitely the origin of 
these Indians. The more probable theory is that they originally 
Hved in the region centering at the mouth of the Ohio River 
and from there gradually worked their way in a northeasterly 
direction, following the course of this river. Another theory 
is that they were of western origin, possibly an offshoot of the 
great Sioux or Dacotah Nation, and as early as the thirteenth 
century had begun to migrate eastward. During either of these 
migratory movements, which continued nearly three centuries, 
they separated into Httle groups which were widely scattered 
throughout the territory east of the Mississippi. The Chero- 
kees of Georgia and Tennessee, the Tuscaroras of Carolina, and 
the Hurons of Ontario all belonged to the Iroquois family. 
Some of the Hurons settled in the vicinity of Niagara and 
others in the valley of the St. Lawrence. Here they came in 
contact with another great race of Indians, called the Algon- 
quins, who occupied the greater part of eastern North America. 
From these two settlements in lower Canada they migrated 
again, this time into the warmer climate of central New York. 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



Here they found a permanent home and were gradually organ- 
ized into five distinct tribes or nations known as the Mohawks, 
the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas. 
The Mohawks, driven from their territory in the vicinity of 
Montreal and Quebec, came into the valley of the river which 
bears their name. The Senecas, moving gradually from the 
highlands of southwestern New York, occupied the fertile plains 




of the Genesee. Even before this time it is probable that the 
Oneidas, the Onondagas, and the Cayugas had established them- 
selves in the hill country surrounding the ''finger" lakes of 
central New York. 

The names given to these tribes are in part the English 
equivalents 'of Indian words; and the localities in which they 
lived are still indicated by the rivers and lakes which bear their 
names. The tribes, as a whole, were called by the French "the 
Iroquois," by the English "the Five Nations," but the Iroquois, 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 3 

proud of the fair country which they controlled, called them- 
selves "The People of the Long House." 

As they grew in numbers and in power they seized the hunt- 
ing grounds of the Algonquin tribes within the state and either 
drove these weaker Indians out of this territory or forced them 
to become their vassals. The Mohegans of the Hudson valley, 
the Adirondacks of northeastern New York, and the Eries in 
the west soon felt their power. Their form of political organiza- 
tion aided them in their conquests, for the five tribes, already 
bound together by ties of kinship, soon found it necessary to 
unite for purposes of common defense and aggression. 

About the middle of the sixteenth century they formed a rude 
republic which has since been called the League of the Iroquois. 
It is interesting to note that, more than fifty years before any 
permanent English settlements were made in the New World 
and two hundred years before the United States was estab- 
lished, these people, whom we regard as savages, had in actual 
operation a democratic federation in which both men and 
women shared. 

Their Political System. This League of the Iroquois was 
not closely knit together. It was rather a confederation of 
independent tribes or nations. It had a governing body, which 
consisted of a council of fifty men selected from the five nations 
in the League. These men were called sachems, and in the great 
council determined matters relating to the welfare of the League, 
but as all action required a unanimous vote it was seldom possi- 
ble to reach a common decision. So it was that each tribe often 
acted independently of thje others. At the time of the Ameri- 
can Revolution most of the Oneidas, under the leadership of 
their great chief Skenendoah, aided the cause of the colonies, 
while the rest of the Iroquois remained loyal to the British. 

The sachemships were not distributed equally, for the Onon- 
dagas, one of the smaller nations, had fourteen, while the Sene- 
cas, who were the most numerous, had only eight. The sachems 
not only acted together as a central law-making body, but, as 



4 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

individuals, ruled the nation to which each belonged. They 
were assisted in these tribal duties by chiefs chosen from among 
the members of the nation who had won honor in war or at the 
council lire. When matters affecting the confederation as a 
whole arose, runners summoned the chiefs and the sachems to 
a grand council which met usually at the castle or village of the 
Onondagas. Thus it will be seen that this primitive system 
was not unlike our own federal government in which there 
is a centralized general authority supported by sovereign states. 
Life and Occupations of the Iroquois. When the white man 
first came in contact with the Iroquois he found them living in 
villages in which the houses were built of logs or of bark. The 




A Wampum Belt, Used by the I^^DIANs for Various Purposes: for Con- 
dolences, FOR Treaties, for Formal Messages, etc. 

villages were usually situated on high ground overlooking the 
surrounding country and were inclosed by a palisade of logs so 
that they could be defended. Here they made their winter 
homes, but in the summer time hunting and fishing parties 
would come down from these hill villages and camp beside 
the lakes and rivers of the valley. 

The Iroquois had learned the art of agriculture and raised a 
sufficient amount of maize, beans, and tobacco to supply the 
needs of each village. They had acquired considerable skill in 
fashioning implements of flint and of stone for use in war and' 
in hunting. Longfellow, in his beautiful poem Hiawatha, the 
legend of an Onondaga chief, tells of the building of their grace- 
ful birch-bark canoes. Their pottery was made of clay and was 
usually adorned with a simple geometric design. The women 
used needles made from bone and knew how to tan leather and 
to weave baskets. After the white man came they obtained 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 




6 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

iron tools and with these often carved bone and wooden orna- 
ments. With these iron tools they also wrought in brass and 
copper and to a slight degree in silver. In this respect they 
were far in advance of the surrounding peoples. Most of the 
domestic work was done by the women and children, while the 
men engaged in war or in hunting and trapping. 

Sources of their Strength. The Iroquois were never a numer- 
ous people. At the height of their power they probably num- 
bered less than twenty-five thousand. But they were alert 
and vigorous and had progressed farther toward a civilized 
state than the people whom they subdued. In addition, they 
held what Fiske has called the most important military posi- 
tion in eastern North America. They called this territory their 
Long House — a name which is also appHed to the houses in 
which they lived. From the eastern door of the Long House on 
the Hudson, their land extended to the Niagara frontier, which 
was the western gateway. Along the water routes and the 
Indian trails that interlace this territory, the bronzed warriors of 
this famous federation traveled swiftly and struck relentlessly. 
They were known and feared from the Atlantic to the Missis- 
sippi and levied tribute upon a vast empire. War bands of the 
League were seen on the distant shores of Lake Superior and 
on the Tennessee. In 1607 Captain John Smith met a party 
of the Iroquois in their canoes on the waters of 'Chesapeake Bay, 
and in 1681 they attacked the fort which La Salle had built 
for the Illinois on the shores of the Mississippi. 

Their Later History. After the Dutch had founded the 
colony of New Netherland, the Iroquois lived on terms of 
friendship with them and their English successors, but with 
the French in Canada they were constantly at war. The causes 
of that antagonism will be told in another chapter, but it is 
well to note here that the Iroquois held, for more than a cen- 
tury, the frontiers of New York against the encroachments of 
the French, who were eager to gain a foothold in all the territory 
drained by the St. Lawrence River system. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 7 

In 1 715 the Tuscaroras, a southern tribe of Iroquois stock, 
were driven from the CaroKnas and sought a refuge among 
their kinsmen of the north. They were admitted to the League 
and given a portion of the lands held by the Oneidas. From 
that time the Iroquois were known as "The Six Nations." 

It would be interesting to study in detail the history of these 
remarkable people, for in it may be traced within the space 
of a few centuries the rapid progress from savagery to semi- 
civilization of a brave and vigorous race, but the rest of their 
story is so linked with that of European colonization that it 
may well be followed in an account of that' period. We do not 
need to go to Greece or to the valley of the Nile to learn about 
prehistoric life, for our forefathers met and talked with men 
of the Stone Age in the valleys of the Mohawk and the Genesee. 

Uninfluenced by European ideas, they had achieved for them- 
selves a stable and an effective form of government which they 
wisely administered and courageously defended. They had 
developed some of the simpler arts and crafts which make for 
civilization and they had extended their influence over half a 
continent. But they were destined to yield to a higher civiliza- 
tion, and with the coming of the white man their power slowly 
but surely declined. In the passing of a great race before the 
steady advance of another and a stronger one these primitive 
peoples simply repeated the history of mankind in its progres- 
sive growth. 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. Describe the coming of the Iroquois. 

2. What would have been the probable effect on the history of New York 
if the French had succeeded in estabhshing friendly relations with the 
Iroquois? 

3. Imagine yourself an Indian boy: tell the story of your home life and 
occupations. 

4. Draw a map showing the territory occupied by each tribe of the 
Five Nations. 



8 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

5. In what ways was the system of government of the Iroquois league 
like or unlike our own federal goverrunent? 

6. What were the sources of strength of the Iroquois? 



REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Morgan: "The League of the Iroquois." 

2. Campbell: "Pioneer Priests of North America," Vol. I. 

3. Parkman: "The Jesuits in North America," Vol. II. 

4. Parkman: "Pioneers of France in the New World," Vol. II, Chapters 
X and XIV. 

5. Home: "History of New York," Chapter II. 

6. Roberts: "New York," Vol. I, Chapter IX. 



EARLY EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS 

The Coming of the White Man. The sixteenth century was a 
period of awakening for Europe. The printing of books and 
the revival of learning stirred men's minds. Old trade routes 
to Asia had been shut off and commerce looked toward the 
west for other routes. New inventions made the task of the 
navigators simpler, and sailors of all nations boldly set forth 
upon unknown seas. It was a brave and adventurous age and 
none were braver than the men who searched the shores of a 
new world for a passage to the Indies. 

The French in New York. Among these was Verazzano, an 
Italian explorer in the employ of France. He was the first 
European of whom there is authentic record as the discoverer 
of New York. But he seemed to be content to view only the 
bay into which the Hudson flows and so sailed away to France 
without realizing that the river whose mouth he had entered 
was the gateway to a continent. It is possible that French 
and Portuguese traders also knew of this river, but they left no 
trace of their visits. 

About the beginning of the seventeenth century the King of 
France determined to establish a French colony in the northern 
part of America. Cartier, by his exploration of the St. Lawrence 
River in 1535, had laid the foundation for French claim to this 
territory, and the man chosen to make this claim secure was 
Samuel de Champlain. He was a bold and self-reliant man 
who had already won renown in the service of his country. In 
1605 he established a colony at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, and 
three years later he founded the city of Quebec. He made 
friends with the Algonquin Indians, who inhabited this section, 
and was easily persuaded to join one of their war parties in 
an expedition against the Mohawks, their ancient enemy. 

Starting from Quebec, Champlain, with two French com- 
panions and a small band of Indians, paddled up the St. Law- 

9 



lo 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



rence to the Richelieu River. Here they were joined by some 
Huron allies and commenced their invasion of the Iroquois 
territory. They passed through the Richelieu into a great 
lake which until that time no white man had looked upon. 
Champlain describes it as a "large lake filled with beautiful 
islands and with a fine country surrounding it." In honor of 
its discoverer this lake is to-day fittingly called Lake Champlain. 




M^^^^L^:z:::u^^^.-.':i<£~:L.^^^i^^\'^ 



FIRST SETTLEMENTS 

in the 
STATE OF NEW YORK 

SCALE OF MILES 

C iaj Sj CO so 

SETTLEMENTS IN GROUPS OF YEARS 
i 1614-1700 r-?^-'- 11700-1800 ^^^ 



The little band paddled southward over its broad waters until, 
at a point near the present village of Ticonderoga, they met a 
war party of the Iroquois, and in the battle which followed 
Champlain and his men were victorious. The Iroquois never 
forgave the French for their share in this victory. It was the 
white man's musket, which they faced for the first time, that 
drove the Iroquois back. 

SLx years later Champlain, returning from a visit to the 
Huron country, crossed the eastern end of Lake Ontario, the 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



II 



"Beautiful Lake" of the Indians, and landed at the mouth of 
the Salmon river, which the Indians called " Ga-hen-wa-go " 
and the French "La Famine Riviere." From here he pushed 
his way southward through the forests until he reached a 
stockaded fort of the Oneidas in the hills south of the present 
city of Oneida. This fort he besieged, unsuccessfully; he 
was wounded and forced to retreat. These two encounters of 
the French with the Iroquois laid the foundation for the 




Father Joques Preaching to the Mohawks ^ 

hatred which these powerful Indians felt ever afterwards for 
the French. During the next centuries there was constant 
warfare between them, and after the Iroquois had obtained 
firearms from Dutch and English traders they were often vic- 
torious. Tracy's invasion of the Mohawk country in 1666 led 
to a cessation of hostilities for nearly twenty years. Then 
the Senecas became troublesome, and in 1687 Denonville, the 
Governor General of New France, with 3000 regulars and 
Indians — the largest force the French ever sent against the 
Iroquois — marched against the Senecas, burned their villages, 



' From Parkman's " The Jesuits in North America." Copyright, 1907, by 
Little, Brown, & Co. Used by special permission. 



12 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

destroyed their crops, and built a fort at Niagara. In retaliation 
a great Iroquois invasion of Canada nearly swept the French 
settlements out of existence. 

The only bright spot in this century of cruel warfare and 
misery is the work of French missionaries among the people of 
the Long House. There are no fairer or braver pages in the 
history of our state than those which record the holy zeal and 
lofty devotion to duty shown by the Jesuit Fathers — of whom 
Isaac Jogues, Simon LeMoyne, and Julien Gamier are heroic 
examples — in their efforts to plant the cross of Christ and the 
lilies of France among the Indians of central New York. But 
these black-robed Fathers were political agents of France as 
well as priests of Christ, and the English governors — espe- 
cially Dongan, himself a Catholic -;- sought to counteract their 
influence by sending English priests among the Iroquois. 

Dutch Explorations. In the sixteenth century Spain was 
the most powerful nation in Europe. She held vast possessions 
both in the Old World and in the New. But the defeat in 1588 
by the English of her great fleet — the Armada — wrested 
from her the control of the sea, and the revolt of the Spanish 
Netherlands took her choicest European possession. The 
northern provinces of the Netherlands united to form the 
Dutch Republic, or Holland. This brave little nation pros- 
pered and soon came to be a leader in commerce. 

One of its chief organizations was the Dutch East India 
Company, which had built up a profitable trade with the East 
Indies. They sought, as did others, a more direct route to 
the Indies, and engaged Henry Hudson for the venture. He 
was an Englishman who had already made two daring attempts 
to reach the Indies by a passage across the Arctic Ocean. In 
a little ship called the Half Moon, which the Company equipped 
for him, he made a third attempt by the same route. Bafiied 
by ice, he turned westward, crossed the Atlantic, and after 
sailing along the New England coast entered New York Bay. 
Remaining here a few days, he turned the prow of his little 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 13 

ship northward, and sailed into the noble river which now 
bears his name. This he explored as far as the present city of 
Albany. A boat's crew which he sent further north to make 
soundings returned with the report that the channels were 
shallow and the water fresh. This convinced Hudson that there 
was here no sea passage to the Indies. So, with his ship laden 
with furs, he sailed for Holland. He stopped en route at the 
English port of Dartmouth, where he was detained by the King, 
but was allowed to send on his report to the Company. 

The Dutch Traders. When the news of Hudson's discoveries 
had reached Holland, the Dutch were greatly elated. They 
had traded in furs for many years with Russia and quickly 
realized the importance of the rich fur-bearing region which 
Hudson had found. During the next ten years many Dutch 
traders made voyages to this new country. Among the most 
resolute of these were Adriaen Block and Hendrick Christiansen. 
Block lost one of his ships by fire and was compelled to 
spend the winter of 16 13-16 14 on Manhattan Island. The 
log huts which he and his men built there were the first white 
men's homes on the site of the present city of New York. Dur- 
ing the winter he also built a little vessel which he called the 
Onrust or Restless in which in the spring he explored Long 
Island Sound and the New England coast as far as Cape Cod. 
Other Dutch traders went south along the Jersey coast to Cape 
May and visited the Delaware River, which they named the 
South River. The Hudson was then known as the North River. 

The Dutch claimed, as a result of these explorations, all the 
territory from Cape Cod to Cape May. Later, they narrowed 
their claims to the land between the Connecticut and Delaware 
Rivers, but they were never able to hold all of this territory. 

About the same time that Block was on Manhattan Island, 
Christiansen, wishing to establish himself nearer the heart of 
the fur country, built a trading post on a little island near the 
present city of Albany. This he surrounded by a strong stock- 
ade and named it Fort Nassau. The post was soon moved to 



14 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



a better location at the mouth of the Normans Kill, a little 
creek two miles south of the former site. Here, in 1617, the 
treaty of Tawasentha was made with much ceremony between 
the Dutch and the Indians. The River Indians, as the Mohi- 
cans and the Delawares were called, joined with their over-lords, 
the proud Iroquois, in the pledging of friendly relations with 
the white men. The influence of this treaty was far-reaching. 
It was faithfully observed by both parties. It secured the 




Governor Minuit Purchases Manhattan Island from the Indians 



trade and friendship of the people of the Long House and estab- 
lished them as a barrier against the French in Canada. Later 
the post at Tawasentha was abandoned and a new site was 
chosen within the present limits of the city of Albany. Here 
Fort Orange was built and in time it became the center of a 
thriving settlement. 

I These trading stations were established under the auspices 
of the New Netherland Company, an organization of Amster- 
dam merchants who had been given by the Dutch government 
in 1614 the first charter for trading in the new land. But this 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



IS 



company was interested chiefly in the fur trade, and Holland 
desired to establish more permanent settlements. 

The West India Company. In order to accomplish this, the 
West India Company was chartered in 162 1 and was given 
exclusive control of New Netherland. The first colonists were 
Walloons, French Protestants living in Holland. Thirty fami- 
lies of these resolute people came over in 1623. Some of them 
settled on Manhattan Island, but the majority went up the 




The Fort at New Amsterdam, at the Lower End of Manhattan Island, 

ABOUT 1633 

river to Fort Orange. Others followed and it soon became 
necessary to give the growing colony a stable form of govern- 
ment. 

The Dutch Governors and Patroons. In 1626 Peter Minuit 
was sent over as governor, with the title of Director-General. 
He ruled wisely and firmly, and the colony prospered under 
his leadership. He purchased the island of Manhattan from 
the Indians. Soon a httle settlement, which he called New 
Amsterdam, grew up on the lower end of the Island. The 
village was protected by a log fort and in later years by a pali- 



i6 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

saded wall on its northern side. Wall Street now marks the 
line of this palisade. 

In order to encourage emigration the company gave land 
to any shareholder of the company who would bring over fifty 
settlers. These grants were known as patroon estates. The 
patroon was given eight miles on both sides, or sixteen miles 
on one side of a navigable river and as far back as he could 
conveniently locate. He had to purchase the land from the 
Indians, provide his tenants with farming equipment, and 
supply a minister and schoolmaster for them. In return they 
paid him a small rent, bound themselves to remain on the 
estate a certain number of years, and gave him the first right 
to purchase their grain, which had to be ground at his mill. 
It was, in fact, a form of feudalistic land tenure and later was 
the source of trouble between the heirs of patroon estates and 
their tenants.' The manor house of the Van Cortlandt estate 
still stands in Van Cortlandt Park in the northern part of New 
York City. 

The most prosperous of these patroon estates was established 
in the vicinity of Fort Orange, by Kilian van Rensselaer, a 
rich diamond merchant of Amsterdam. It was called Rensse- 
laerwyck and included a large part of Albany, Columbia, and 
Rensselaer counties. 

The six years of Minuit's governorsliip were marked by the 
growth of a peaceful trade with the Indians and by the begin- 
nings of commerce and of farming in the colony. His succes- 
sors were not so fortunate. Van Twiller was inexperienced and 
slow, and Kieft was crafty and hot tempered. In the latter's 
administration an uprising of the River Indians, for which 
Kieft's cruelty was largely responsible, almost swept out of 
existence all of the farm homes and little hamlets in the vicin- 
ity of New Amsterdam. As a result of this, Kieft was com- 
pelled to grant to the colonists a degree of self-goverrmient, by 
associating with him a council for the management of the 
affairs of the colony. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 17 

Three of the Dutch pioneers of this period deserve special 
recognition. One of these, Adam Roelandsen, was the first 
schoolmaster sent to New Amsterdam. The school which he 
established was continued by him and his successors, at public 
expense, until the colony passed into the hands of the English. 
Another, Megapolensis, the learned ''Dominie" of Fort Orange, 
had the honor of being the first Protestant missionary to the 
Mohawks. The third, Arendt van Corlaer, in his position as 
superintendent of the great Van Rensselaer manor, dealt so 
justly with the Indians that they called him "Brother Corlaer" 
and used his name afterward as their title for governors of 
the colony. They renewed with him the treaty of Tawasentha 
and always kept unbroken this silver covenant chain of friend- 
ship with the Dutch. Van Corlaer also founded the first settle- 
ment in the Mohawk valley at Schenectady. 

English Immigrants. The Dutch were not the only colonizers 
of New Netherland. The Puritan colony of Massachusetts 
overflowed into the Connecticut valley and firmly established 
little communities before the Dutch were able to settle there. 
From this region many Englishmen crossed to Long Island, and 
as a result the eastern part of the island was almost wholly 
colonized by the English. The first of these settlements was 
planted by Gardiner on an island off the eastern shore of Long 
Island, which he named after himself. It is interesting to note 
that the title of this property, based upon the original Indian 
grant and upon a charter issued by the English King, still 
remains in the Gardiner family. 

From various parts of New England bands of men and women, 
weary of the stern rule of the Puritans, sought refuge among 
the kindlier Dutch. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and her followers 
settled at New Rochelle, and in western Long Island the towns 
of Hempstead, Flushing, Gravesend, and Newtown were 
planted. These people brought English customs and traditions 
with them and were granted by Kieft a greater degree of self- 
government than their Dutch neighbors. 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



The Last of the Dutch Governors. The last of the Dutch 
Governors was the bluff soldier Peter Stuyvesant. He was a 
man of strong character, arbitrary and sometimes narrow- 
minded in his dealings with the colonists. This was perhaps 
the result of his military training. But he was just and high- 
minded and New Netherland thrived under his rule. Much 

of his time was oc- 
cupied with disputes 
with Connecticut over 
boundary lines and 
with a Swedish colony 
which had been 
planted on the Dela- 
ware. He led an ex- 
pedition against the 
latter colony, con- 
quered it, and brought 
many of the Swedes 
back to New Amster- 
dam. 

Stuyvesant's atti- 
tude toward people of 
other religious faiths 
than his own was in- 
tolerant. He was es- 
pecially severe in his 
treatment of the 
Quakers and Jews, 
who flocked to the 
colony. The West India Company did not approve of this, 
for Holland had long been the refuge of those who had been 
persecuted elsewhere for their religious beliefs, and he was 
compelled to modify his policy. 

New Amsterdam was by this time assuming the character 
of a cosmopoHtan town. It was a port of entry for the sailors 




STUWLbWr Dl STROYING THT SUMMONS TO SUR- 

RLNDER New Amstlrd\m 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



19 



of all countries. Spanish and Portuguese, English and Dutch, 
met and mingled on its streets. It had attained in 1653 to the 
dignity of a city charter granted by the home government 
and modeled after the charters of the cities of Holland, and by 
1664 had a population of 3000. 

New Netherland becomes an English Province. Its growing 
importance led the English to desire its possession. They had 
only a shadowy claim to the territory, based on the discoveries 
of the Cabots and other English explorers, but this did not 




New Amsterdam Passes into the Possession of the English 



deter Charles II from giving what was not rightly his to give. 
So he made a secret grant to his brother James, Duke of York, 
of all the region occupied by the Dutch. James took imme- 
diate steps to secure his gift by sending Nichols with a fleet 
to seize the Long Island towns and New Amsterdam. When 
the fleet arrived off the Connecticut shore, it was joined by 
soldiers from New England eager to assist in the capture of 
the Dutch possessions. The fort at New Amsterdam was in no 
condition to withstand a siege, and the inhabitants of the little 



20 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

city were not unwilling to try the English rule. Stujrvesant 
stormed and raged, but as he saw that he would be able to 
offer only a feeble resistance, he sadly consented to surrender. 
On September 3, 1664, the town passed into the hands of the 
English, without the firing of a single shot. The rest of the 
colony quickly yielded and an English government was set 
up under the direction of Nichols. The name of New Amster- 
dam was changed to New York and that of Fort Orange to 
Albany. As a British province, New Netherland became New 
York. Aside from the alteration of these titles, the habits and 
customs of the colony remained practically the same. 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. Give an account of the visits of the French to New York in the seven- 
teenth century. 

2. Name some of the early Dutch explorers and settlers and locate on 
the map of New York their explorations and settlements. 

3. Describe the patroon system and locate one patroon estate. 

4. Which one of the Dutch governors do you like the best and why? 

5. Tell of the transfer of New Netherland to the English. 

6. Compare the mode of living, dress, and occupations of the Dutch in 
New Amsterdam with those of the people of New York City to-day. 

7. What peoples settled in New York in the first century of its existence? 

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Fiske: "The Dutch and Quaker Colonies," Vol.1. 

2. Thwaites: "The Colonies," Chapter IX. 

3. Roberts: " New York," Vol. I. 

4. Foote and Skinner: "Explorers and Founders of America." 

5. Innes: "New Amsterdam and its People." 
'6. Griffis: "The Story of New Netherland." 

7. Earle: " Colonial Days in Old New York." 



A CENTURY OF ENGLISH RULE 

The English Governors. For more than a century New York 
remained in the hands of the English, except for a short period 
of fourteen months when the Dutch, who were then at war 
with England, seized the stolen colony and held it until, by 
the Treaty of Westminster in 1674, it was returned to England. 
From 1664 until 1685 it was the private property of James 
Stuart, Duke of York, granted to him by his brother, Charles 
the Second, King of England. The governors sent over by 
James were his personal representatives, accountable only to 
him for the management of the property. 

The first of these governors was Nichols, who had been in 
command of the fleet which had captured the little city of New 
Amsterdam in 1664. He seems to have been a moderate and 
discreet man whose desire was to deal fairly with the people 
in his charge. He has the honor of being one of the few colonial 
governors of New York who did not use his office as a means 
of adding to his private fortune. One of his first acts was to call 
a meeting of the leading men of the colony to consider the laws 
which the Duke of York authorized him to establish for the 
regulation of colonial affairs. Two delegates from each town 
met and accepted under protest these Duke's Laws. Their 
chief objection to the laws which Nichols had framed was that 
they centered all the authority in the governor. Under a kindly 
man like Nichols such centralization of power might not prove 
oppressive, but they foresaw its danger when used by a man 
of a different stamp. 

Nichols was succeeded by Lovelace, whose administration 
was colorless, and he in turn by Andros, of whom you have read 
in connection with your study of New England. 

Governor Andros found that his principal task, like that of 
his predecessors, was to bring his subjects peaceably to accept 
the English rule. The Dutch Repubhc had been in Europe the 



22 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

foremost champion of liberal government, and its American 
colonists had much the same spirit of independence. Several 
of the leading citizens of New York refused to take the oath 
of allegiance which Andros required, but a few weeks in prison 
brought them to terms. Andros also found his English subjects 
troublesome, especially those of the Long Island towns. They 
were bound rather closely by ties of kinship to the people of the 
Connecticut valley, and many of them, as residents in New 
England colonies, had become accustomed to the degree of self- 
government which the charters of these colonies permitted. 

Questions relating to the extent of his authority also arose to 
vex hun. King Charles, with careless liberality, gave New Jer- 
sey to two of his favorites, and Penn had also obtained from 
him a large tract in which was soon established the colony of 
Pennsylvania. His brother, the Duke of York, later added 
Delaware to Penn's grant. This materially reduced the extent 
of the territory intrusted to Andres's care and brought about 
friction between him and the governors of this territory. It 
also lessened the revenues which Andros could collect for the 
proprietor and led to his recall in 1681. The City of New York, 
however, prospered during this period, largely because it was 
given a monopoly of the flour industry. The exclusive control 
of the sifting of meal from bran and of exporting it as flour 
made the millers and merchants of the little city rich at the 
expense of the rest of the colony. 

Thomas Dongan, the next governer, was an Irish gentleman 
of birth and breeding who proved to be a competent and ener- 
getic leader. He brought with him formal permission from the 
Duke of York to organize a government in which the people of 
the colony might share. Steps were at once taken to accom- 
plish this. A general assembly of eighteen men elected by 
the vote of the people met in New York on October 17, 1683, 
and drafted the "Charter of Liberties." This document is 
most important, for it marks the beginnings of self-government 
in this state. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 23 

It provided that legislative authority, under the King and 
the Proprietor, should be vested in "a governor, council and 
the people met in a general assembly." It also provided for 
freedom of religion and for taxation by the consent of the people. 
In these respects it was far in advance of other colonial charters. 

Governor Dongan approved of the acts of this Assembly and 
the Duke of York signed the "Charter of Liberties," but it did 
not remain long in force. No Stuart prince or king ever kept 
his word if he found that it was to his advantage to break it. 
James never believed that the common man had any rights 
which a king should recognize. His seeming willingness to 
grant such a liberal charter was in order to persuade the colony 
to give him more money. So when Charles II died, and the 
Duke of York became James II of England, he promptly but 
secretly canceled the charter of New York. His intention was 
to annex it and New Jersey to New England, where, under 
Andros as governor, he attempted to revoke their liberal char- 
ters and to form a royal province. Fortunately, however, for 
the rights of Englishmen in the Old World and in the New, 
the autocratic rule of James was soon to end. The bloodless 
revolution of 1688 drove James into a well-merited exile and 
placed upon the throne of England a liberal ruler in the person 
of WilHam of Orange. 

Important Events of Dongan's Rule. Several events of 
Dongan's administration show that he was a liberal and fore- 
sighted governor. Through the Assembly of 1683 he organized 
the province into twelve counties. New York, Richmond, Kings, 
Queens, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Albany, Orange, and 
Ulster were within the limits of the present state, while Duke's 
County in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and Cornwall 
in Maine, included the territory over which James claimed 
jurisdiction outside of the state. 

Dongan also vigorously asserted the claims of England to 
the territory south of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, where 
the French were attempting to gain a foothold among the 



24 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

people of the Long House. Under him the charter given by 
Stuyvesant to New Amsterdam was reestabUshed, and a city 
charter was also granted to Albany. These two towns were 
the first in America to be organized under a city form of 
of government. 

Dongan wisely fostered friendly relations with the Iroquois, 
and in order to protect the Albany fur trade purchased from 
them the lands along thfe upper part of the Susquehanna river, 
from which many beaver pelts were brought. In this way he 
prevented William Penn, who saw the opportunity to build 
up a profitable trade in that region, from obtaining any prop- 
erty rights there. 

The Leislerian Rebellion. The change of government in 
England was destined to have far-reaching results in New York. 
It led almost immediately to a clash between the common 
people and the office-holding class which, with the rich mer- 
chants and landed proprietors, formed a little aristocracy in 
the colony. Jacob Leisler, the champion of the people's cause, 
was the son of an exiled French Protestant minister. Born in 
Germany, he came to New York in the service of the Dutch 
West India Company. Here he established himself as a mer- 
chant, was elected captain of the militia, and was active in the 
affairs of the Dutch Reformed Church. 

When the aristocratic element was slow to acknowledge 
William as King, the people, under the leadership of Leisler, 
seized the government, appointed a committee of safety, and 
later, through an assembly which was called, clothed Leisler 
with all the powers of a governor. Albany and its mayor, Peter 
Schuyler, did not at first recognize his authority, but when the 
frontier settlements were threatened by the French in Canada, 
gladly called upon him for help. Nowhere in the records do we 
find that Leisler and his followers were disloyal to England in 
thought or act. He claimed to be conducting the affairs of the 
colony only until a legally appointed governor should be sent 
over from England, and justified his actions by vague letters 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 25 

from the King in which WilHam directed "such as may be in 
rule" to maintain order until the new governor should arrive. 
As Leisler had been chosen by the people for this very pur- 
pose he continued to act, much to the rage of the aristocratic 
party. One of the measures which shows his statesmanship 
was the calling of a Congress of the Colonies for the purpose of 
joining in unified action against the menace of the French. 
Although this Congress accomplished little, it marks the begin- 
nings of a spirit of unity among the colonists. 

The Fall of Leisler. Finally the slow-acting English govern- 
ment sent over Colonel Sloughter as its representative. He 
seems to have moved with characteristic British deliberation, 
for it was nearly a year and a half after he received his com- 
mission before he reached New York. In the meantime Cap- 
tain Ingoldsby, in command of the troops of the new governor, 
arrived. Leisler refused to surrender to htm on the ground 
that the worthy captain had no authority to act in Sloughter's 
place. Leisler held the fort with his militia, while Ingoldsby 
had his soldiers quartered in the town. Affairs continued in 
this state of armed neutrality for several months. At last they 
clashed and in a skirmish several lives were lost. Two days 
later Sloughter arrived and Leisler promptly recognized his 
authority. Leisler's enemies immediately took a cruel revenge. 
They persuaded Sloughter to try Leisler and his associates for 
treason, and before a packed court and jury these alleged rebels 
were convicted. An appeal was immediately taken to England, 
but without waiting for action on this the death warrants of 
Leisler and of his son-in-law, Milborne, were signed and they 
were hanged as traitors on the present site of the New York 
Tribune building. Four years later an English Parliament 
legalized the acts of Leisler and thus did tardy justice to the 
memory of a brave man who had been sacrificed to satisfy the 
malice of his political enemies. In the administration of the 
Earl of Bellamont, several of these men were punished for 
various acts of misconduct while in office as councilors. 



26 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

Good and Bad Governors. During the next half century a 
procession of governors moved across the stage of New York's 
history. It is profitless to remember the names of many of 
them, for they were either viciously corrupt, like Cornbury, or 
hopelessly incompetent, like Cosby. Two men, however, are 
worthy of mention because of their influence in the expansion 
of the colony: Governor Hunter, under whose administration 
three thousand Germans, exiles of the Palatinate, settled in 
the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys; and Governor Burnet, 
under whom the fur trade was extended westward. Burnet, 
desirous of diverting to Albany and New York some of the rich 
traffic in furs which had followed the St. Lawrence route to 
Montreal and Quebec, established a trading post at Oswego 
in 1722. The importance of protecting this outpost of English 
civilization was soon apparent and Governor Burnet out of 
his own funds built a fort there four years later. Under date 
of May 9, 1726, he wrote to the Lords of Trade in London that 
he had "sent up workmen to build a stone house of strength at 
a place called Oswego — with a detachment of sixty soldiers 
to protect the building." He also stated that there were about 
two hundred traders at the same place. Through the building 
of this fortified post, Burnet asserted a claim to the territory 
and obtained a foothold on the Great Lakes. This was the 
first serious attempt of the English to dispute with the French 
the mastery of the Great Lakes and the control of the commerce 
they were destined to carry. 

The French were keenly alive to the value of the region. 
They held Fort Frontenac at the entrance to the St. Lawrence, 
and they sought to complete the control of the western traffic 
by building in 1726 a fort on the Niagara river at the great 
portage between Lakes Erie and Ontario. 

Colonial Leaders. The period was marked by the rise to 
positions of power in the colony of several vigorous and keen- 
minded men. Peter Schuyler, the first mayor of Albany, was 
one of these. He had great influence over the Indians — by 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 27 

whom he was called Brother Quider — for he trusted them and 
dealt with them honestly. Robert Livingston, a Scotchman 
who founded Livingston Manor, and Lewis Morris of Morri- 
sania were also leaders in the political affairs and guided the 
thought of the colony. The descendants of these men were 
among the great patriots who won for New York and for the 
American colonies independence from the despotic rule of 
George the Third. Indeed, all through the annals of our national 
life, the names of Schuyler, Livingston, and Morris are illustrious. 
On the other hand the DeLanceys, probably the most promi- 
nent of the French Huguenot families of New York, were loyal- 
ists at the time of the Revolution, although they had been in 
colonial days influential in the affairs of the colony. 

Freedom of the Press Established. A dramatic incident 
occurred in 1734 which had far-reaching results. Supported by 
influential friends, John Peter Zenger, an able and courageous 
editor, had established a paper called the New York Weekly 
Journal. In the columns of his paper he severely criticized the 
arrogant and corrupt conduct of Governor Cosby. Cosby had 
huTi arrested and tried for libel, but the jury acquitted him of 
the charge. The address of Andrew Hamilton, a leader of the 
Pennsylvania bar and Speaker of the Assembly of that colony, 
who defended Zenger, was a lofty and courageous plea for free- 
dom of speech and of the press. This plea, and the verdict 
which it won, did much to establish those principles upon which 
the rights of man and the safety of democracy are founded in 
America. 

Wars and Rumors of War. In the first three of the inter- 
colonial wars New York bore its share of the burden and suffered 
the usual ravages of frontier warfare. But in the final struggle 
— a struggle which was to determine whether France or Eng- 
land were to control the destmies of the New World — our state 
took the foremost part. It was the key to a continent, the loss 
of which would imperil the very existence of the colonies along 
the Atlantic seaboard. So the British government called a 



28 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



colonial congress in Albany for the purpose of arranging a 
common plan of action against the French. Here, in 1754, dele- 
gates from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Mary- 
land met in conference with the Iroquois chiefs, and here Benja- 
min Franklin, on behalf of Pennsylvania, presented a plan of 
The plan proposed by Franklin was not acceptable 



umon. 




Abercromhie's I'.xpedition against Ticonderoga 

This army of 15,000 troops is the largest ever afloat upon Lake George. The 
expedition ended disastrously, the English losing 2000 in one day. Compared 
with the splendor of his advance, Abercrombie's retreat was an ignominious flight. 

either to the colonists or to the government, but it was a proph- 
ecy of that greater union which was destined not many years 
later to win for us our freedom. The congress adjourned after 
making preparations for the impending struggle with France. 

The events of the French and Indian War have been told 
elsewhere in this book and need not be repeated here. The war 
in New York had two distinct and contrasting phases: the first 
marked by the military incompetence and lack of energy of 
the English generals sent over to lead the campaigns, and the 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



29 



second by the vigorous conduct of the war lo a successful con- 
clusion under the guidance of a new Prime Minister, William 
Pitt. 

It brought forward a new leader in colonial affairs in the 
person of Sir William Johnson. Johnson was a landed proprie- 
tor in the Mohawk valley, a brave and vigorous man with great 
influence among the Iroquois. He kept that powerful confed- 
eracy loyal to the English, 
defeated the French at 
Lake George, and cap- 
tured Fort Niagara. The 
glory of the name of 
Johnson was sadly 
dimmed after his death, 
by the cruel acts of his 
descendants in the border 
warfare of the Revolution. 

New York emerged 
from the French and 
Indian War greatly ex- 
hausted, but with a grow- 
ing consciousness of her 
power. Her soldiers had 
proven themselves equal 
to the British regulars, 
her men had come closer 
in contact with the men 

of other colonies, the fear of French invasion was past. The 
burdens of unjust taxation were soon to come. Here then 
were the experiences which trained men for a new struggle 
against tyranny. 

Early Trade Routes. Before we begin the story of the Revolu- 
tion it will be well to consider some of the early trade routes 
in the colony. No other settlement in America was better situ- 
ated for the development of commerce than New York. East- 




FoRT Crailo 

Built in 1642, and said to be the oldest build- 
ing in the United States. It is in the city of 
Rensselaer, directly across the Hudson river 
from Albany. It was here that a British officer 
composed "Yankee Doodle," while the fort 
was the headquarters of General Abercrombie, 
of the British army, in 1757, during the 
French and Indian war. 



^o ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

ward through Long Island Sound and south along the Jersey 
shore the coastal trade was protected. The mighty Hudson 
was the gateway to a continent. North of this the Champlain 
valley and to the west, the Mohawk, gave ready access to rich 
fur-bearing regions. Along the upper reaches of the Delaware 
and the Susquehanna fertile lands were already sparsely settled 
by pioneer farmers who had come up from Pennsylvania or 
across the Catskills. These settlements were doomed to a short- 
lived existence, for they were swept away by the fierce Indian 
raids of the Revolution. Up the river courses, the natural trade 
routes which interlace the Empire State, and along the Iro- 
quois trails, thoroughfares which in peace and in war the Indians 
had traveled for centuries, sturdy pioneers pushed their way 
and planted Kttle settlements. 

Of all these routes of trade the Mohawk and the great cen- 
tral trail of the Iroquois, extending from the Hudson to the 
Niagara frontier, were the most important. From this main 
highway a strategic portage route diverged at Rome, where 
Fort StanwLx was built in the French and Indian war, and 
extended by way of Oneida Lake and the Oswego river to 
Lake Ontario. The military importance of this portage as a 
route of colonial travel in the interior of America was second 
only to the one at Niagara. Over these thoroughfares in time 
of war, border armies hurried by; in their recesses red-skinned 
highwaymen lurked to collect the coveted poll tax; through 
them in time of peace long streams of immigration flowed. They 
were filled with voyageurs and traders, explorers and missiona- 
ries, passing to and fro on their errands of trade or of conquest. 

New York in the Revolution. We do not need to go to New 
England or to Virginia for evidence of a spirited opposition to 
the unjust measures which the British ministry and a king- 
controlled Parliament now sought to impose upon the Ameri- 
can colonies. New York was foremost in asserting the rights 
of colonial Englishmen. Again and again the leaders of her 
assembly protested with dignity and with eloquence against 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



31 



taxation by an authority outside of the colony and against any 
interference with her colonial courts. They justly held that 
such an autocratic assumption of authority was a violation of 
constitutional rights. 

When, therefore, a stamp tax was imposed by Parliament, 
the issue of "taxation without representation" was met promptly 
by New York. A committee of correspondence had been in 
touch with similar committees in other colonies, and, at the 




The Surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, Oct. 17, 1777 
The defeat of the British here was the turning point of the Revolution. 

suggestion of this committee, coupled with an invitation from 
Massachusetts, a colonial congress met in New York on Octo- 
ber 7, 1765. This congress issued a petition to the King and a 
declaration of rights and grievances. Its chief glory, however, 
lies in the fact that the colonies here met for the first time by 
their own will to join together for action against tyranny. 

The repeal of the Stamp Act led to short-lived rejoicing, for 
other oppressive measures soon followed. The stamp tax and 



32 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



later the so-called tea tax was met by merchants of New Y«rk 
with non- importation agreements in which the merchants of 
other colonies joined. Like Boston we had a "tea party" of 
our own and dumped the hated tea into the harbor as uncere- 
moniously as did our New England friends. 

Clashes between the citizens and the British soldiers in New 
York were not infrequent. An organization called the "Sons 
of Liberty," which had been in existence since the days of 
Zenger, was now most active. Liberty poles erected by these 




Battle Monument at Oriskany 

Here General Herkimer checked the advance of St. Leger and made possible 
the American victory over Burgoyne. 

men were cut down again and again by the soldiers, until one 
bound with iron was raised. This pole remained standing 
until after the capture of the city in the Revolution. The 
"battle" of Golden Hill, in John Street on January i8, 1770, 
between the "Sons of Liberty" and the troops showed the 
temper of the people. It was only a street brawl, but in it, 
two months before the Boston massacre, the blood of Ameri- 
cans was shed. Secretly and openly the spirit of freedom 
spread. Men began to train in military companies. Young 
Hamilton, a student of King's College, formed among the stu- 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



33 



dents there an organization called the " Hearts of Oak," with 
the motto "Freedom or Death." Party lines began to be 
sharply drawn. On the one side were the Tories, composed of 
some of the wealthier merchants and landed proprietors, men 
who hesitated to break the ties which bound the colony to the 
mother country; on the other were the Patriots, the most 
radical of whom were already looking forward eagerly to com- 
plete independence. When the New York Assembly under 




The Long Room in Fraunces Tavern, New York City 

Here Washington bade farewell to his Generals at the close of the Revolution, 

December 4, 1783. 

Tory influence failed to represent public opinion, the people 
took matters into their own hands and formed a provincial 
congress. This body was the governing power in the colony 
until New York became an independent state. 

Thus the curtain rose upon the mighty drama of the Revolu- 
tion. In this drama New York played a brave but tragic part. 
She was worthily represented in the halls of Congress by men 
like Livingston, Morris, and Jay and on the field of battle by 
Schuyler and Clinton. Her frontier settlements were ravaged 



34 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



by Tory and Indian raids, and the City of New York was sub- 
ject to the severities of British mihtary rule. Yet at Saratoga 
and at Oriskany the patriot farmers turned back the tide of 
invasion; in the midst of the turmoil and horrors of war the 
people formed a state government, and, in 1777, adopted a 
constitution. 

New York an Independent Nation. From this time until 
the United States was formed. New York was an independent 
state leagued together with the other states in a loose confedera- 
tion. Her first Governor was George Clinton, whose influence 

and popularity were 
shown by his succes- 
sive elections to that 
ofhce until 1795. The 
legislature was a mi- 
gratory body. Driven 
from New York by the 
coming of the British, 
it met at difTerent 
times in Pouglikeepsie, 
in Kingston, and in 
New York until the 
capital was finally lo- 
cated in Albany. 
During the critical period from 1783 to 1789 the industry 
and commerce of New York flourished, often at the expense 
of the other states. This may explain her indifference toward 
the movement which culminated in the formation of a Federal 
government. The only representative from New York in the 
Constitutional Convention of 1787 who was in S3rmpathy with 
its work or whose opinion carried much weight, was Alexander 
Hamilton. When the constitution was adopted he hurried 
back to New York to begin the fight for its acceptance by this 
state. Opposed to him was the powerful Governor, George 
Clinton, as the leader of those who believed in the doctrine of 



Efifij '-^ 


- 


% 


i 


P 






W»^:- 




r "^ 


i 


i 


^ 


irr t 


..^„..,„!/r'^ 


^W 



Old Senate House at Kingston, N. Y. 

The first constitution of the State was adopted here 
April 20, 1777. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 35 

state rights. But in the Federalist Papers, written jointly by 
Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, the advantages to be gained by 
a stronger centralized government were so clearly and so elo- 
quently presented that the people were convinced. 

A convention, which was called at Poughkeepsie in 1788, after 
recommending the addition of amendments which should more 
exphcitly protect the rights of the states, adopted the Federal 
constitution. Thus New York, by its own act, ceased to exist 
as an independent republic and became a part of a greater 
Nation. 

The Federal government chose New York City as its tem- 
porary capital and here, on the steps of Federal Hall, at the 
corner of Wall and Broad Streets, General George Washington, 
with solemn pomp and ceremony, was inaugurated as the first 
President of the United States of America. 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. Give an account of the principal events in the governorship of Dongan. 

2. TeU. the story of the so-caUed Leislerian rebellion. 

3. Show in what ways the English governors sought to control the fur 
trade within the territory claimed by the English. 

4. Give an account of the Zenger trial and show its importance in our 
later history. 

5. On a map of New York trace the more important of the early trade 
routes. 

6. How did the early settlers live? Wliat were some of their dangers 
and difficulties? 

7. What measures did the colonists of New York adopt in opposition to 
the policies of George the Third? 

8. From what parts of Europe did the immigrants come principally 
during this century and where did they settle in this state? 

9. Why did not the weakness of the confederated government concern 
New York directly and how was she finally persuaded to ratify the 
federal Constitution? 



36 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Fiske: "The Dutch and Quaker Colonies," Vol. II. 

2. Fiske: "New France and New England," Chapter IX. 

3. Fiske: "The American Revolution," Vol. I, Chapters V-VII; Vol. 
II, Chapter XI. 

4. WUliams: "Stories from Early New York History." 

5. Griffis: "The Story of New Netherland." 

6. Foote and Skinner: "Explorers and Founders of America." 

7. Foote and Skinner: "Makers and Defenders of America." 

8. Earle: " Colonial Days in Old New York." 

9. Roberts: "New York," Vol. I. 

10. Home: "History of New York." 

11. Cooper: "The Spy." 

12. Frederic: "In the Valley." 

13. Barr: "The Bow of Orange Ribbon." 

14. Chambers: " Cardigan." 



A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 

We come now to the story of that remarkable growth in 
population and in resources which has made our Common- 
wealth the greatest state of the Union. It began, of course, 
with the commerce of New York City and the westward exten- 
sion of frontier settlements. It developed with the growth of 
agriculture, with the rise of manufacturingjndustries, and with 
the development of means of transportation. 

Land Grants. The close of the Revolution opened the interior 
of the state for settlement. The power of the Iroquois Con- 
federacy had been broken, for they had, with the exception of 
a part of the Oneidas, sided with the English and had been 
sternly punished by General Sullivan in his expedition into the 
Seneca country. Many revolutionary soldiers had received 
land bounties and, taking up claims on these, had cleared little 
farms. The state was prodigal with its undeveloped resources, 
for it sold vast tracts to land speculators for mere pittances. 
An illustration of this is the MacComb purchase of more than 
three and one half million acres of land, for a large part of which 
MacComb paid at the rate of eight pence an acre. A much 
worthier gift, one in which we should take pride, was the gener- 
ous cession in 1780 to the confederated government of New 
York's interest in the northwest territory. We had the honor 
of being the first of the states to surrender our rights to this 
territory. Massachusetts and Virginia voted against the ac- 
ceptance of this gift, but the force of public opinion led them 
later to surrender also their claim to the same region. 

Massachusetts also had a shadowy claim to western New 
York based upon her royal charter. By a compromise she was 
allowed to purchase a vast tract in this part of the state from 
the Iroquois. From this she sold about 200,000 acres between 
the Oswego and Chenango rivers and 6,000,000 acres in the 
Seneca Lake country and the valley of the Genesee to Phelps 

37 



38 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

and Gorham. This rich country passed later into the hands 
of the Holland Land Company, which extended its holdings 
to the Niagara frontier. The development of this section in 
the last fifteen years of the eighteenth century led to a tide 
of western emigration along the central Indian trail, the 
ancient highway of the Iroquois. In 1794 the "Great Genesee 
Road" was chartered by the legislature and was extended from 
Whitestown to Geneva. In 1798 it was built through to Buffalo, 
where Joseph Ellicott, as agent of the Holland Land Company, 
had surveyed a city site. We can trace the successive waves 
of western emigration by the names of places along the New 
York Central Railroad: Amsterdam and Herkimer mark the 
peaceful invasion of the sturdy Dutch and Palatine farmers 
who settled the Mohawk valley; Whitestown, Auburn, and 
Rochester, the stern New Englanders who found broad acres and 
fertile fields awaiting them in central and western New York. 
How swiftly this tide flowed is shown by the fact that in 1820 
Ontario, Genesee, and Oneida were the second, third, and 
fourth counties in population, whereas thirty years before they 
had been almost unbroken wildernesses. 

The Rise of New Parties. The first of the nineteenth century 
marks the beginning in this state of the decline of the Federalist 
party. Its leaders had been powerful factors in the building of 
the nation. Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury had estab- 
lished our national credit. John Jay, a man of pure character 
and lofty ideals, had successfully negotiated a wise, but at first 
an unpopular treaty with Great Britain, and Gouverneur Morris 
had represented the United States with honor abroad. 

In state affairs, however, the new Democratic-Republican 
party was rapidly coming into prominence. It might also have 
been called the Clintonian party, for it was for years domi- 
nated by George Clinton and his nephew DeWitt Clinton. 
Allied with these was the powerful Livingston family, Aaron 
Burr, and the war governor of 181 2, Daniel D. Tompkins. It 
was a time of bitter personal rivalries, one of which cul- 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 



39 




40 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

minated in the tragic death of Hamilton at the hands of the 
selfish Burr. 

The War of 1812. In 1812 New York was again called upon 
to bear the burden of a war with Great Britain. The navy of 
England was at first so occupied with the war with France 
that there was little danger of hostile attacks along the Atlantic 
seaboard. But the frontier of New York, from Niagara to 
Oswego, Sacketts Harbor and the St. Lawrence border, was 
easily open to invasion from Canada. For this reason many 
of the land battles and inland naval engagements of the war 
were fought within the limits of this state. Lake Ontario was 
the scene of naval activity. Here with great difficulty, since 
most of the equipment had to be transported overland from 
the Hudson, but with an energy and determination that ma^ 
be envied to-da}^, a respectable fleet was built and manned. 

But the most brilliant alYair of the war in this state was the 
defeat of a British invasion along the war-worn Champlain 
route. Here, on September 11, 1814, in a naval engagement off 
Plattsburg, Commodore MacDonough utterly routed a stronger 
English fleet. On land General Prevost, with 15,000 veteran 
troops, was opposed by MacComb with 3000 regulars and an 
equal number of militia from New York and Vermont. The 
defeat of his supporting naval force compelled Prevost to re- 
treat. Like Burgoyne, he failed, checked by the bravery and 
devotion of Americans. 

The Rise of Manufacturing Industries. Although the War 
of 18 1 2 severely taxed the resources of New York, it had an 
indirect and unexpectedly beneficial effect upon her industries. 
Shut off from European trade by the embargo and later by 
the war. New York was forced, together with the other states, 
to manufacture her own goods. The introduction of machinery 
driven by water power or by steam led to the building of found- 
ries and factories, and these spread rapidly. The beginnings 
of the great textile industries were made. The industrial revo- 
lution of Europe found root here also, and although the pros- 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 41 

perity of our manufacturing industries was temporarily checked 
by an influx of European goods at the close of the war, we have 
grown to be the greatest of the states in the variety and value 
of our manufactured products. 

Problems of Transportation. Manufactured goods and prod- 
ucts of the farm are of only local value unless they can be 
readily exchanged. The problems of transportation, therefore, 
were matters of public interest. We have seen how the water- 
ways were in early days the natural highways of trade and of 
travel. But the canoe and the batteau were too slow, and 
men were seeking some faster means of water travel. As early 
as 1789 Fitch and Rumsey were experimenting on the Potomac 
and the Delaware with steam-driven boats. Their attempts 
attracted the attention of Chancellor Livingston and later of 
Robert Fulton. At last Fulton succeeded in solving the prob- 
lem, and on August 7, 1807, the dream of steam navigation 
came true. On that day his boat, the Clermont, started under 
her own power that historic voyage from New York to Albany, 
one hundred and fifty miles away, where she arrived thirty- 
two hours later. Ten years later a steamboat was regularly 
plying on the waters of Lake Ontario. 

Private enterprise also engaged in the building of toll roads. 
The success of the Genesee road led to other chartered turn- 
pikes, so that by 1808 there were a thousand miles of them 
within the state. 

The Erie Canal. A still more ambitious project was now 
conceived. After the Revolution, Washington, in visiting the 
interior of the state, foresaw the vast possibilities of its water- 
ways. Before the end of the century, locks had been built 
around the rapids of the Mohawk and a canal at Fort Stanwix 
connected that river with the head waters of Oneida Lake. But 
the opening to settlement of the rich lands of western New 
York and the need which the War of 181 2 had shown of a means 
of intercommunication between the East and the West led to 
the building by the state of the Erie Canal. In this great under- 



42 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

taking Governor DeWitt Clinton was the prime mover. Started 
at Rome in 1817, it was completed from Lake Erie to the 
Hudson, a distance of 363 miles, in 1825. 




JVEW LIME 



npHE subscribers inform the public, that they have established a line 

of STAOE BOATS, to ply between this city and Utica, for the accommodation of pas- 
sengers from the latter place, and to carry up such valuable articles of merchandize, &c. as 
require the utmost care and dispatch. One Boat will leave Utica every Monday and Wednesday 
morning, and Schenectady every Wednesday and Friday morning. For passage at Utica, ap- 
ply to A. Van Santvoord & Co. 

THE OLD LINE CONTINUED, 

From Schenectady for Oswego, Cayuga, and Seneca Falls. One Boat will 

satrt regularly every Saturday, during the season. Goods received between Saturday and 
Tuesday evening, to be forwarded beyond Utica, will be put on board the Slaye Boat ofWed- 
nesday morning, and will overtake the Saturday's boat, at Utica, where they will be put on 
board and forwarded as directed. 

Wagons will, as heretofore, be kept in constant readiness to transport 

from the city of Albany to Schenectady, or any part of the United States and Canada. Gen- 
tlemen who reside at a distance from the water communication are informed, that their goods 
will be delivered from the boats at any place they may think proper to designate ; and at the 
Seneca Falls, to avoid delays, wagons are provided to convey the property, if required, to its 
place of destination. 

The subscribers consider themselves the actual carriers, and responsi- 
ble for all property passing through their bands, unavoidable accidents excepted. 

Eri Jjusher & Co. 

Schenectady, May 1, 1815. 

RICGS t iTEVEKS, Prmliri—SAauclady. 



Advertisement of Old Canal Line 



It brought the resources of the West and the wares of the 
East together. The abundant crops of wheat raised on the 
fertile lands of western New York now found a ready market 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 43 

at the Atlantic seaboard. Before this the cost of transportation 
had been so excessive that it was said that the returns from 
an acre of wheat would buy only a pair of breeches. The suc- 
cess of the Erie project encouraged the state to embark upon a 
policy of connecting it with other waterways of the state. A 
series of canals were built, among which the Oswego, the Black 
River and the Champlain were most important. But with the 
coming of the railroads they ceased to be commercially profit- 
able and most of them have long since been abandoned. The 
Erie was used not only for freight but also for passenger traffic. 
On its placid surface and along its picturesque route travelers 
could take long journeys more comfortably than in the stage 
coaches of that day. 

These artificial waterways fostered the growth of cities along 
their routes and so materially helped toward the upbuilding of 
our commerce. 

The Era of Railroads. The next step forward in solving the 
problem of transportation was the building of railroads. The 
first line in this state was between Albany and Schenectady in 
1831. Then the Erie was started in 1836 and in 1851 had ex- 
tended its Hnes to Dunkirk on Lake Erie. The New York Cen- 
tral came slowly into being through the consolidation of many 
smaller lines connecting the cities of the state. 

Thus the Indian trails and waterways, the turnpikes, the 
canals, the steamboats, and the railroads mark successive 
stages in the development of transportation in this state. 

The Birth of New Parties. During nearly forty years of 
the first part of the nineteenth century the Democratic party 
controlled the policies of the state. Its great leader, DeWitt 
Clinton, died in 1828, but under the adroit management of 
Martin Van Buren and the inner circle of politicians known 
as the Albany regency, its sway was almost absolute. One of 
its ablest men was William L. Marcy, who, as governor of the 
state and as Secretary of State in the national government, 
rendered distinguished service to the country. 



44 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

But the Whig party, as heirs to the principles of the old 
Federalists, was coming to be an important factor in national 
affairs. The effects of the financial panic which swept the coun- 
try in 1837 was felt severely in New York. This, together with 
a reaction against the autocratic political methods of the Albany 
regency, carried the Whigs into power. They controlled the 
legislature in 1837 and in 1838 elected as governor William H. 
Seward of Auburn. Seward was destined to play a dominant 
part in the affairs of the nation. As the champion of the cause 
of anti-slavery, as a Whig leader, and later as a founder of the 
Republican party, and as a loyal member of Lincoln's cabinet, 
he was one of the greatest statesmen which our commonwealth 
has produced. 

Political changes came rapidly in the next twenty years. Old 
political affiliations were broken and new ones formed. The 
addition of vast western tracts at the close of the Mexican war 
awakened the dormant slavery question. Party strife ran 
high. Factional differences which centered around the per- 
sonality of Governor Silas Wright arose among the Democrats. 
The ''barnburners" were his friends and the "hunkers" his 
political enemies. 

The Whigs, as a national party, temporized on the issue of 
slavery and so alienated many of their northern friends. The 
shifting mass of public opinion, part Whig and part Democratic, 
joined first the free-soil movement and then the American or 
" Know-Nothing " party until at last a new party, clearcut and 
positive in its convictions regarding a lofty moral principle, 
came into existence. This was the Republican party and to 
its hands was intrusted for many years the destiny of state and 
nation. 

Early Literary Activity. Although New England has been 
generally regarded as the literary center of America, New York 
was the first to produce writers of more than national fame. 
Washington Irving, as our first great essayist, and James Feni- 
more Cooper, as our first great novelist, won recognition both 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 45 

at home and abroad in the field of letters. In this creative age 
of American literature, a group of young poets and essayists 
was formed with Irving as its central figure. Paulding, Drake, 
and Fitz-Greene Halleck were the most conspicuous of this 
group, and under their great leader they set the literary fashions 
of the age. 

The democratic spirit of Thomas Paine, — who wrote vigor- 
ous and daring political pamphlets during the Revolution, — the 
genius of Poe and the art of Bryant may be claimed for our 
state, although they were not natives of New York. 

The Struggle for the Union. The decade from 1850 to i860 
was marked by a rapidly widening chasm between the North 
and the South. A majority in New York believed that slavery 
was morally wrong and that this institution ought not to be 
allowed to extend its evil influence beyond its present bounda- 
ries. A radical minority, however, argued for the abolition 
of slave labor. They spoke of an irrepressible conflict and of 
a law higher than the constitution. Men like Gerritt Smith 
aided in the evasion of fugitive slave laws and helped the work 
of the underground railroads. 

The mills of the state, on the other hand, were dependent 
upon the South for their supply of cotton, and the merchants 
of New York City had extensive trade with the South. They 
were loath to see these commercial relations disturbed. But 
the election of Lincoln to the Presidency, the secession of the 
southern states, and the attack upon Fort Sumter united 
public opinion, and the state sprang to the defense of the Union. 

New York's share in the Civil War is a glorious one. From 
every city and hamlet and farm the best of our American blood 
responded to the call to arms. In the battle of Bull Run we 
furnished two fifths of the troops and suffered two fifths of the 
losses, and in the whole war a half million of our men were 
actively engaged. 

A lawless element in our cities, aided by ignorant foreigners, 
however, opposed the enforcement of the Draft Act. Riots 



46 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

broke out in July of 1863 — the same month in which the 
victories of Vicksburg and Gettysburg were won — and were 
suppressed only by stern measures. More than a thousand 
lives were uselessly sacrificed in New York City during these 
days of mob rule. The steadfastness and sobriety with which 
we met the demand for universal service in 191 7 is in marked 
contrast to the dark days of '63. 

These evidences of lawlessness in the cities did not indicate 
any general sentiment in favor of the southern cause. A deep 
underlying sentiment of loyalty pervaded the state as a whole, 
and with steadfastness of purpose the people pressed forward 
toward a successful conclusion of the war. 

liidustrial Growth. The close of the Civil War left the state 
reduced in population and in resources. But the growth of the 
transportation system, linking the East with the West, the 
marvelous development of New York's manufacturing indus- 
tries, and the rise of the West as a great food-producing region 
for the markets of the East, restored this state to its position of 
supremacy in industry and in commerce. This industrial and 
commercial growth encouraged the shifting of our population 
toward our cities and led to the complex problems of city life. 

Before the public conscience was aroused, corruption in the 
governments of some of our cities was not uncommon. The 
erection of municipal buildings and public works, the granting 
of franchises to street railroads and lighting companies and even 
the regulation of crime, were made the occasions of graft on 
the part of dishonest politicians. 

The Tweed Ring. The most flagrant example of this was in 
the activities of the so-called "Tweed Ring" in New York. 
This ring, under the leadership of "Boss" Tweed, is said to 
have defrauded the city, in the early '70's, of over $100,000,000. 
It was overthrown through the expose in the New York Times, 
and Samuel J. Tilden, who prosecuted the criminal cases against 
its members, rose to national prominence and became a candi- 
date for the presidency. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 47 

Political Changes. A split in the Republican party caused 
by the opposition of Senators Conkling and Piatt of New York 
to the policies of President Garfield in 1880-81 had far-reaching 
results. The "Stalwarts" supported these Senators, while the 
"Half-breeds" were loyal to the National Republican adminis- 
tration. This lack of unity in the Republican party restored 
the Democrats to power in the state, and their governor, Grover 
Cleveland, was later elected President. 

In more recent years, Theodore Roosevelt, who had been 
governor of the state, became President through the assassina- 
tion of McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. 
He served a second term and then was the foremost leader of 
the new Progressive party and was its defeated presidential 
candidate. Both Cleveland and Roosevelt were fearless and 
independent leaders in the administration of their high offices. 

Progress in Inventions. In the industrial growth of America, 
inventions developed or perfected in New York have played a 
large part. Closely following the application of steam to trans- 
portation on water and on land came a new means of com- 
munication. Joseph Henry, a teacher in the Albany Academy 
for Boys, experimented in the transmission of sound by elec- 
tricity through wires. This was the basis of the invention of the 
telegraph by Samuel F. B. Morse, a professor in New York 
University. In 1845 the New York, Albany, and Buffalo Tele- 
graph Company was formed, with headquarters in Utica. This 
was the first magnetic telegraph company in the world, but 
it was not long before a network of wires was spread across the 
land. Then came the successful laying, in 1866, of an Atlantic 
cable. The credit for this great enterprise belongs to Cyrus W. 
Field, a merchant prince of New York City. In financing 
this venture he was aided by Peter Cooper, a manufacturer of 
that city and the founder of an institution devoted to industrial 
education known in his honor as Cooper Union. 

The Monitor, an ironclad designed by John Ericsson, a native 
of Sweden, was built in one hundred days at Greenpoint, across 



48 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

the East River from New York, and marked the beginning of 
a new era in naval warfare. 

The processes of producing paper in vast quantities from 
pulp wood have been largely developed in our state. Northern 
New York is said to supply one fourth of all the news print 
used in America. The great newspapers of to-day are made 
possible because of this supply of paper and because of the 
Hoe press, invented by Richard Hoe and perfected by his son. 

The manufacture of typewriters and of photographic instru- 
ments has largely centered in the cities of the state, because 
the men who were responsible for the remarkable growth of 
these industries have been citizens of this state. 

The Influence of the Press. The newspaper is a potent fac- 
tor in molding public opinion. In this respect four of the 
metropolitan journals of to-day have had a long and usually 
honorable career. The Evening Post, founded in 1801, had 
as its editor for fifty years the poet William Cullen Bryant. 
The New York Sun, founded in 1833, attained distinction under 
the brilliant leadership of Charles A. Dana. Horace Greeley, 
as the editor of the Tribune, founded in 1841, through the 
vigor of his unique personality wielded a remarkable influence 
throughout the North during the Civil War and the reconstruc- 
tion period. The New York Times, founded in 185 1, was in- 
strumental in the exposure and punishment of the Tweed Ring 
in New York City. The cartoons of Nast, published in the 
Times and in Harper's Weekly also contributed toward the 
awakening of the public conscience. 

In recent years weekly magazines like Colliers, The Outlook, 
and The Independent have exerted a wholesome influence upon 
civic life. In their field, also, the Century, Scribners, and Har- 
pers magazines have been representative of the best American 
thought. Many of the novels and essays of J. G. Holland 
appeared in Scribners while he was its editor. 

New York in Literature. Great writers belong to no state 
or nation. Their work is the inspiration of all. It is perhaps 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 49 

not fair, therefore, to claim as a product of New York all the 
men and women who have come to the great city to market 
their wares. William D. Howells, the dean of American letters, 
Walt Whitman, and Edwin Markham, the poets of democracy, 
and George William Curtis are among those who have been at 
times residents of New York. 

John Burroughs, the genial essayist of nature; William 
Winter, the dramatic critic; and Theodore Roosevelt, whose 
vigorous pen sets high ideals for our common life, are represen- 
tative of the newer school of prose writers who have brought 
honor to our state. 

The Women of New York. Among the women of New York 
who have distinguished themselves in literature or in public 
service, it is possible to mention only a few. Emma Willard 
may justly be named first, for she was a pioneer in securing 
higher education for women. In 182 1 she established the Troy 
Female Seminary and trained there many teachers for the 
schools of the South and West. She found text-books inade- 
quate, so wrote a number for use in her school. She was a 
woman of marked executive ability and of great powers of 
mind. Through the munificence of Mrs. Russell Sage the 
Emma Willard School has been established as a continuation 
of the Troy Female Seminary, and it is now one of the leading 
preparatory schools for girls in America. 

Vassar College, for the higher education of women, was 
founded at Poughkeepsie in 1865. Similar institutions are 
Wells College at Aurora and Elmira College at Elmira, while 
the great Universities of the state, Columbia, New York, Cor- 
nell, and Syracuse, are open to women as well as to men. Syra- 
cuse, especially, is a pioneer in the training of women for the 
profession of medicine. 

Frances Willard, the great leader in temperance reform, was 
born in New York and was at one time preceptress of the Gene- 
see Wesleyan Seminary at Lima. 

Among the leaders in the movement for equal suffrage in 



50 



ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 



this state were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, 
and, more recently, Mary Garrett Hay. 

The poets Alice and Phoebe Gary, although natives of Ohio, 
lived the last twenty years of their lives in New York. Mary 
Mapes Dodge, as editor of St. Nicholas, has brought joy to 
thousands of boys and girls. 




New York City, from the Hudson River 



Great Engineering Feats. The marvelous growth of the city 
of New York and the geographical limitations of Manhattan 
Island in the last twenty years have necessitated the building 
of great engineering works unsurpassed by any similar structures 
in other great cities of the world. The most conspicuous ex- 
amples of these are the subways, which provide for rapid 
transportation underground, and the system of reservoirs and 
aqueducts which supply from the great Ashoken reservoir in 
the Gatskills an abundance of pure water. 

The barge canal, now rapidly nearing completion, at a cost 
to the state of New York of about $150,000,000, links the sea- 
board with the Great Lakes. It follows in part the Mohawk 
river and the route of the old Erie Canal and has branch lines 
reaching to Lakes Champlain, Ontario, Cayuga, and Seneca. 
The whole system includes 440 miles of artificial waterways 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 51 

and 350 miles of lakes and rivers, or 790 miles in all. Each 
lock will hold a single boat of 2000 tons capacity or two boats 
of 1 500 tons each. Vessels 1 50 feet in length can be operated on 
the canal, and it is estimated that ten million tons of freight 
can be transported through the system in a single season. 

Recent Progress. New York has in recent years moved 
steadily forward. The corruption of the Tweed Ring and simi- 
lar cliques, broken by an aroused civic conscience, has led to a 
more active interest in public affairs, and our city governments 
are generally conducted on a higher plane. 

In the conservation and development of natural resources, 
in the variety of soil and products, in the application of elec- 
tricity to industrial processes, and in the growth of commerce, 
our state has taken foremost rank. Our merchants have ven- 
tures on every sea and in every land. Our barge canal, our 
state highways, and our railroad systems have supplied us with 
unequaled transportation facilities and so have contributed 
materially to our prosperity. New York City has become the 
center of the financial interests of the country as well as the 
chief gateway to the continent. 

The diverse currents that have run into the population of 
city and state have made New York cosmopolitan. The union 
of strains of blood and character which marked the colonial 
period, when Dutch and English, Scotch and French, fused into 
Americans, again is called upon to assimilate other peoples from 
the south and east of Europe and to make them also into loyal 
citizens of our state and nation. We who are citizens of this 
imperial commonwealth, feel just pride in its record, and we 
would bequeath this pride and a sense of loyalty and of honest 
service to the citizens of to-morrow, the boys and girls of the 
Empire State. 



52 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1 . Compare early methods of travel in New York with modern methods. 

2. Give an account of the settlement of western New York. 

3. What was New York's share in the War of 181 2 ? 

4. Write an account of the building of the Erie Canal and compare this 
canal with the Barge Canal. 

5. What were the political parties in New York during the first half of 
the nineteenth century and who were the principal leaders of each? 

6. Give an account of literary activity in this state. 

7. Who are some of the noted women in the history of New York? 

8. Give an account of the public services of each of the following: 
Alexander Hamilton, DeWitt Clinton, William H. Seward, Grover 
Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt. 

9. Show the relation of either the physical resources or of the industrial 
life of this state to its present prosperity. 

ID. How do you account for the phenomenal growth of New York City 
in a single century? 

11. What were the effects of the building of railroads and of improved 
highways on the internal development of New York state? 

12. How has New York distinguished itself in inventions, in literature, 
in finance, in civic life? 

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Roberts: "New York," Vol. II. 

2. Williams: "New York's Part in History." 

3. Rhodes: "The United States," Vols. I- VI. 

4. Cofifin: "Building the Nation." 

5. Foote and Skinner: "Makers and Defenders of America." 

6. Home: " History of New York." 

7. Atherton: "The Conqueror." 

8. Fiske: "Critical Period of American History," pages 340-345. 

9. Redway: "The Making of the Empire State." 

10. Mowry: "American Inventions and Inventors." 

11. Brigham: "From Trail to Railway." 

12. Hulbert: "Pioneer Roads," Vol ii. 




State Capitol Building, Albany 



HOW THE STATE IS GOVERNED 



The State Older than the Nation. The first constitution of 
New York State was adopted in 1777. The state existed, there- 
fore, as an independent repubHc for more than ten years, bound 
only by its membership in the league of states formed under the 
Articles of Confederation. But since the weak central govern- 
ment, through its Continental Congresses, could not enforce its 
demands, each state was sovereign within its own borders. When, 
however, the State of New York, through its representatives 
assembled in convention at Poughkeepsie, adopted the Federal 
constitution on July 25, 1788, it ceased to be an independent 
nation and became an integral part of the United States. 

Relation of the State to the Federal Government. The 
United States is a government of delegated powers. In other 
words it has only those powers which the several states volun- 
tarily surrendered to it. Therefore the Federal constitution 
in one section says that "the United States shall guarantee to 
every state in this Union a republican form of government" 

53 



54 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

and In another section that ''the powers not delegated to the 
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." 

So we live under the jurisdiction of two distinct institutions, 
state and national, each working together harmoniously for 
the good of the people. The state does the things that the 
nation cannot do. The two sets of laws do not conflict. The 
state and municipal laws supplement those of the central gov- 
ernment. Consequently it is important that the youth of New 
York State know how their state and communities are governed 
and what the relation of each is to their daily Ufe. 

The State Constitution. The constitution of the state is the 
fundamental law. It is a written document guaranteeing, as 
does the Federal constitution, personal liberty, security of prop- 
erty, and providing a system of administration which consists 
of three separate departments, executive, legislative, and judicial. 
It differs from the Federal constitution in that it is not perma- 
nent. We have had but one Federal constitution, which can be 
changed only by amendment, while our state has now its fourth. 

The fundamental principle underlying each of these four 
have remained practically the same, but the minor provisions 
have changed to respond to new conditions which have de- 
veloped with the growth of the state. A state constitution is 
a guide to the administration of matters affecting the welfare 
of the people who must live under it and so must contain many 
intimate local features. 

How Our Constitution is Made. In our state the constitu- 
tions have been adopted by representatives elected by the 
voters of the state. These men form what is known as a con- 
stitutional convention. After they have completed their work 
the constitution is referred to the voters of the state, who 
decide whether it is to be adopted or rejected. 

Who May Vote. Who are the voters of the state to whom we 
have referred? Every man and woman twenty-one years of age 
or older who has been a citizen of the United States for ninety 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 55 

days and who has lived in the state one year, in the county 
four months, and in the election district thirty days may vote 
at all elections, unless disqualified because of crime or of mental 
deficiency. 

Actual Government 

The Legislature. If you were to visit our state capital at 
Albany you would doubtless go first to our capitol building, in 
which are housed most of the departments of our government. 
In one wing of this building you would find a number of men en- 
gaged in making the laws of the state. ■ This is the Assembly. In 
the opposite wing of the building you would find a smaller body 
of men, also occupied with the same business. This is the Senate. 
These two chambers, as they are called, form the State Legislature. 

The Assembly. The number of assemblymen is fixed by the 
constitution at one hundred fifty. These men are elected for 
a term of one year by the vote of the qualified electors of each 
assembly district. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the 
Speaker, who is chosen from among the members at the first 
day's meeting of the annual session. The Speaker has great 
power, for he appoints the standing committees, of which there 
are about thirty, and it is in the meetings of these committees 
that most of the work of the session is carried On. 

The Senate. The Senate is composed of fifty-one members, 
apportioned also by population and chosen by the electors in 
the senatorial districts for a term of two years. The Lieutenant 
Governor is the ex-officio presiding officer of the Senate, but, 
unlike the Speaker of the Assembly, has no vote except in case 
of a tie. 

The Annual Session. The Legislature meets every year on 
the first Wednesday in January. The length of the session is 
not limited, but it usually adjourns in April. 

How Our Laws are Made. If you were a rnember of the 
Legislature and desired to have a certain measure enacted as a 
law, you would present the measure in the form of a bill. A 
legislative bill may be introduced- in either house. It is then 



56 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

read and referred to the proper committee, where its merits 
are considered at private sittings of the committee or at pubHc 
hearings, where friends or opponents of the measure may 
appear and be heard. The committee may "kill" the bill by 
not reporting it. If, however, they approve of the measure 
they report it to that branch of the legislature which they 
represent. A bill must have three readings. Each reading, 
except in an emergency, must be on different days. After the 
third reading it is debated in the house until the " previous 
question" is called for. This closes the debate and a vote is 
taken. If it is passed by a majority of the members of the 
house in which it originated, it is sent to the other house. Here 
it passes through the same process as in the first. To become a 
law it must either have the signature of the governor, or, if he 
refuses to sign it, be returned to the house in which it origi- 
nated, with his objections. If it then receives a two thirds 
vote of both houses it becomes a law without his signature, 
or if the governor fails to sign it or to return it within ten days 
it nevertheless becomes a law. However, after the final ad- 
journment of the legislature this procedure does not hold. 
After this adjournment all unsigned measures remaining in 
the hands of the governor at the end of thirty days are 
automatically killed. 

Special city laws follow a somewhat different procedure. 
Such laws, before they become operative, have to be referred to 
the city or cities concerned to be considered by the mayor 
alone in cities of the first class and by the mayor and common 
council in all other cities. 

These city officials have fifteen days in which they may 
approve or disapprove the measure. If approved the bill fol- 
lows the usual course of other bills and goes to the governor; 
if not approved the legislature may repass the bill and send it 
to the governor for his signature or veto. 

The object of this provision is to give to the cities some opportu- 
nity to be heard with respect to legislation affecting their interests. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 57 

The Taxing Power. In order to meet the current expenses 
of government, to provide for public improvements, to care 
for the wards of the state and to support education, it becomes 
necessary to raise money by taxation. The taxing power is 
vested in the legislature, and all the business with which the 
state is concerned is supported by the exercise of this power. 
The raising of revenues by means of taxes is perhaps the most 
important function of the legislature, for without money most 
governmental activities would cease. The chief sources of 
revenue in this state are taxes on corporations, on inheritances, 
on transfers of stock, on mortgages, and on the sale of intoxi- 
cants. In recent years there has been no direct property tax 
levied by the state, but it is probable that with the greatly 
increased cost of government that form of taxation will be 
restored. 

The Governor 

We have seen how laws are made. Let us now consider how 
they are enforced. At the head of the executive department 
is the governor. He must be at least thirty years of age, a 
citizen of the United States for the five years next preceding 
his election. He is chosen by the qualified electors of the state 
at the general election held in November of every even- 
numbered year and holds office for two years from the first 
day of the following January. 

His Administrative Duties. As the chief executive officer of 
the state his duties are varied. He is the commander in chief 
of the militia of the state and may call out the state forces in 
order to maintain order. He is also empowered by the Federal 
constitution to call upon the United States for aid in suppressing 
domestic violence. He directs the necessary business of the 
state and sees that the laws are enforced. This is done through 
the administrative agencies of the state government, which are 
controlled by him or through executive orders issued by him 
and sent to county or city officials.. 



S8 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

His Legislative Powers. The Governor shares with the legisla- 
ture in the responsibility for the enactment of laws. Through the 
annual and special messages which he sends to that body, he sug- 
gests desirable legislation. Through the budget which he presents 
for its consideration, he expresses his judgment as to the financial 
needs of the state. He may summon the legislature, or the senate, 
alone, to extraordinary sessions. But in his power to sign or 
veto bills he exercises the greatest of his legislative duties. 

His Judicial Functions. In granting pardons, reprieves, and 
commutations of sentence, the governor has important judicial 
functions. 

Other Administrative State Officers 

Many other Qfhcers, boards, and coimnissions assist in the 
state's affairs. They are the managers of the state's business, 
which is wide and varied and requires the services of a large 
number of people. Five of these, the Comptroller, the Secre- 
tary of State, the State Treasurer, the Attorney General, and 
the State Engineer and Surveyor, are elected by the people at 
the same time as the governor and for a term of two years. 

The other officers and commissions are appointed by the 
governor with the consent of the Senate and serve for various 
terms. The more important of these boards are the Public 
Service Commissions, the Conservation Commission, the State 
Board of Charities, the State Commissioner of Highways, of 
Health, and of Excise, the Superintendent of B auks and Insurance. 

The Judiciary System of the State 
The courts of this state have to deal with three distinct 
groups of cases, namely: the interpretation of law, civil cases, 
and criminal matters. The first is based upon questions affect- 
ing the constitutionality of laws passed by the legislature. The 
second is concerned with suits involving p^roperty or contract 
rights. The courts settle such disagreements between indi- 
viduals or corporations. The third has to do with the appre- 
hension and punishment of criminals. Crimes are offenses 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 59 

against the commonwealth. To make the country safe for 
all of us, crimes must be punished. We therefore look to the 
courts for protection, and the judges, together with juries, in 
civil cases enforce our rights and in criminal cases guard the 
commonwealth and apply the penalties which the state has 
fixed for the violation of its laws. 

Kinds and Jurisdiction of Courts 

' There are a series of courts for the trial of cases, extending 
from those presided over by justices of the peace in towns 
and municipal judges in cities, through the county court, the 
supreme court, the appellate division of the supreme court to 
the highest court in the state — the Court of Appeals. 

The Justice Court. The lowest of these is the justice court 
in each town. This has jurisdiction in civil matters, where the 
amount involved is not more than $200, and in petty criminal 
cases. The court is presided over by a Justice of the Peace, of 
whom there are four, elected at town meeting. The justice 
may issue warrants for the arrest of persons suspected of crime 
and bind them over to await the action of the grand jury. 

The County Court. The jurisdiction of the county court is 
Imiited to the county, and in civil actions where the amount 
involved does not exceed $2000. This court also tries the 
majority of criminal cases. The county judge is elected for a 
term of six years. 

The Supreme Court. The next higher court is the supreme 
court, in which all the more important civil actions and the 
graver crimes against the laws of the state are tried. This 
court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. In other 
words certain matters have to originate here, while others are 
appealed to it from the lower courts. The state is divided into 
nine judicial districts and the judges are elected by the voters 
in their districts for a term of fourteen years. 

The Court of Appeals. This court corresponds to the United 
States Supreme Court, except that it has only appellate juris- 



6o ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

diction. It is the most important judicial body in the state and 
is the court of last resort in all questions arising under the state 
law. It deals only with cases brought to it on appeal from the 
lower courts. Its purpose is to determine whether the law has 
been properly interpreted, and it does not examine into the 
facts found in the lower courts except in criminal cases where 
the penalty is death. 

Through this elaborate system of courts the rights of the 
individual with respect to his person and his property are safe- 
guarded. It is the duty of these courts to see that every person 
obtains justice, and they fail in that duty only when we who select 
the judges do not choose men of integrity for these ofifices of honor 
and of trust. 

Local Governments 

In order to bring government more closely to the people 
and to make its administration simpler and more direct, the 
state has been divided into counties and the counties again 
into towns and school districts. 

The growth of cities and villages also has necessitated the 
establishment of separate forms of government to meet special 
needs. All of these units except the counties comprised within 
the limits of the city of New York have the three branches of 
government, — legislative, executive, and judicial. 

How Organized. A county, city, or an incorporated village is 
created by an act of the State Legislature, but a town, as one 
of the subdivisions of a county, is formed by the board of super- 
visors of the county. In the early years of our existence as a 
state, many towns received their charters directly from the 
state and included in their boundaries the larger part of several 
of the present counties. 

While cities, towns, and villages are separate units, they 
are a part of the county in which they exist, and the county 
government performs some of its functions in the cities and vil- 
lages within its limits and the town government in the village. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 6i 

The County. The state is divided into sixty-two counties, dif- 
fering materially in size, population, and character. The five 
counties of Greater New York are distinctly city-counties, while 
Hamilton county in the Adirondacks is practically a wilderness. 

The governing body of the county is the Board of Super- 
visors, and its functions are largely legislative. This body has 
charge of all county property, levies the taxes, and audits the 
accounts of the county. Each supervisor is also a town official. 

The court affairs of the county are in the hands of the county 
judge. We have told in a former paragraph of the limitations 
of his power. With him is associated the sheriff, who is the 
chief executive officer of the county and whose principal duty 
is to keep the peace and to enforce the orders of the court. 

There are many other county officers, such as the surrogate, 
to whom is intrusted the settlement of estates; the superin- 
tendent of the poor, who cares for the dependents of the county; 
and the county clerk, in whose office deeds, mortgages, and 
other legal papers are recorded. 

It will be seen from the foregoing summary of the powers and 
duties of the county government that it is an important unit 
in our political life. Indeed the tendency in this state is to 
centralize in the county the management of many local affairs. 

The Town. The form of government we have just described 
is a representative democracy. It is so called because the 
people govern themselves through the representatives whom 
they elect. The town, however, is a pure democracy; that is, 
in it the people govern themselves directly. At the town meet- 
ing the voters determine what sums shall be raised to meet 
the expenses of the town, consider all business which the laws 
of the state permit the town to transact, and elect from among 
their number men to carry on their business for them. 

The City. Because so many people have settled in limited 
areas and thus created cities and villages, it has been necessary 
to give them a special form of government. For convenience 
in legislation the state constitution has divided the cities into 



62 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

three classes: cities of the first class must have a population 
of 175,000 or more; the second class must have a population 
of more than 50,000 and less than 175,000; the third class 
includes all other cities. 

The growth of population in recent years to a marked degree 
has been in the cities. This has made the administration of the 
business affairs of a city increasingly complex. A growing city 
is constantly being made over. It usually has a large percentage 
of people of foreign birth, community life is congested, the 
citizen has greater needs and demands more from his govern- 
ment. He is much more dependent upon government for the 
protection of his person and his property than are dwellers in 
rural communities. So, for the welfare of its citizens, the city 
establishes police and fire departments, provides for an ade- 
quate water supply and for disposal of sewage, maintains parks 
and recreation centers, grants franchises, cares for the streets, 
and regulates transportation. These are only a few of the 
functions of a city government. In his own city the pupil may 
ascertain others and so add to this list. He should also find 
out the titles and names of the principal city officials and classify 
each according to the legislative, executive, or judicial func- 
tions which he performs. 

A few cities of the state, notably Buffalo and Niagara Falls, 
have introduced a new form of government in which the ad- 
ministration of the affairs of the city is centered in a commission, 
usually composed of five men. As a body they act as the city 
legislature; individually each member is at the head of one 
of the great departments of the city government. 

This interesting experiment in municipal government is 
sometimes still more centralized through the appointment, by 
the commission, of a city-manager, who is the administrative 
head of the city government, and conducts its affairs just as 
the president of a business corporation manages the affairs of 
his corporation. 



HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK 63 

Our Educational System 
We have a strongly centralized system of education. The 
University of the State of New York is composed of all edu- 
cational institutions within the state, from the rural schools to 
the Universities. Its governing body is the Board of Regents, 
who determine its broad policies and administer them through 
a Commissioner of Education whom they elect. Universal 
free education, with compulsory attendance, gives every boy 
and girl equal opportunities. Through grants to colleges and 
through a system of University scholarships, worthy students 
are encouraged to gain a higher education. Nor do the activi- 
ties of the University cease here. The professions are safe- 
guarded through its licensing power and the State Library and 
Museum are in its care. The influence of this great institution 
and its services to the commonwealth are exceeded by no 
other agency of our government. 

The Individual and the State 
This then is the machinery, both state and local, by which 
we govern ourselves. We must not forget that each one of us 
is directly responsible not only to this government but, in an 
equal degree, for this government. It is our creation through 
our representatives who framed the constitution and through 
the men whom we select to make our laws. These laws are 
very close to us; they control even the intimate details of our 
daily life; therefore we must choose wisely the men to whom 
we intrust these great powers. The state is nothing without 
her citizens, and when the citizens work together for the com- 
mon good, when they forget selfish interests in loyal service to 
the community and to the state, they fulfil the obligations of 
good citizenship and help to make the state a peaceful and 
prosperous place in which to live. 



64 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

1. What is the state Constitution and how is it made? 

2. Describe a visit to the state capital. 

3. Tell how our laws are made. 

4. Mention the more important powers and duties of the governor of 
this state. 

5. Describe the judicial system of this state. 

6. Distinguish between a pure democracy and a representative democ- 
racy and give an example of each in this state. 

7. How is a city created? What are the three classes of cities? How 
does legislation affecting a city differ in process of making from that 
affecting a village? 

8. What are some of the problems of city life? 

9. If you live in a city or village find out what officers are responsible 
for the public business of the city or village. To whom are they 
responsible? 

10. What are the advantages of the commission form of government 
for cities? 

11. Mention some of the responsibilities of the state towards its citizens. 

12. Mention some of the duties of the citizen toward the state. 

13. From the New York "Red Book" make a list of the principal state 
officers and state boards. Indicate on this list the principal duties 
and powers of each. 

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING 

1. Ashley: "The New Civics." 

2. Boynton: "Actual Government of New York." 

3. Guitteau: "Government and Politics in the United States." 

4. Hughes: "Community Civics." 

5. "The New York Red Book." 



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